Wednesday, November 27, 2013

It's been 15 years since I've been to Chile and oh how I've missed it. We have family here so it was great to have the local treatment, catch up with everyone, including new additions to the fam & attend a crazy-fun wedding dancing till dawn! Above are a few highlights. We did so much more & you can find my happy snaps on instagram.

Thursday, November 21, 2013

Now that I've crossed the Inca Trail and Nazca Lines off my bucket list, it's got me thinking of the other places high on my list. Turns out there's quite a few in Europe... I've been to Europe twice now and feel like I've only just touched the surface of what this diverse continent has to offer. Here are a few of the must-see destinations and experiences topping my list right now...

View the Aurora Borealis / Northern Lights - Norway

Bathe in the Natural Rock Pools - Pamukkale, Turkey

(the cotton castle)

Visit the Ruins on Mount Nemrut - Turkey

Take a dip in the Blue Lagoon Geothermal Spa - Iceland

Visit Plitvice Lakes National Park - Croatia

Stay at an Ice Hotel - Sweden

Perambulate through Monet's Garden - Giverny, France

Fall in love with Versailles, France

The Pink Beach - Sardinia, Italy

(although it can only be seen from sea now)

Plus many more! These are just a few. Do you have a bucket list or places you must see? I'd love to know if any of you have any in Europe you could help me add to my list. I'm currently devouring all the Europe info on the Emirates Destinations page, wishing I was heading off right now...

Friday, November 15, 2013

This delicious concoction is my drink of choice when in South America. In both Chile & Peru you will find it in every bar and restaurant. There are many variations but here is the popular Chilean version we came across. Enjoy xx

Monday, November 4, 2013

After experiencing something as amazing as the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, Peru continued to enchant us. After one luxurious night at the Westin, Lima, (serious luxury after 4 nights camping, sharing a squat toilet & no showers) we were then off on a 7 hour bus ride to the Nazca Desert. Here we got to experience another adventure on our bucketlist: flying over the Nazca Lines.

Believe me, climbing into this tiny plane (in weight order I might add, so I was at the back whilst hubby was up front) had me breaking out in a sweat - and not just because I was in the desert!

If you haven't heard of the Nazca Lines, they are ancient geoglyphs marked into the desert only clearly visible from above, the largest ones spanning over 200m across. Shrouded in much mystery as to how and why these geoglyphs were created, scholars believe the Nazca culture created them between 400 & 650 AD.

Can you see the Whale? (Ballena)

Triangular shapes that continue over mountains...

The Astronaut (Astronauta) - sometimes called The Watcher

The Monkey (Mono). You may have to click on the photos to see them larger.

The Dog (Perro)

The Hummingbird (Colibrí)

The Spider (Araña)

The Condor

The Tree (árbol) - you can see the size perspective next to the Pan-American Highway. There is also a small viewing platform for people to see the tree geoglyph closer to ground.

After surviving the small flight and a little motion sickness we were off to the ancient aquaducts

(puquios) which are still very much in use today.

Here cactus farms are purposely infected with parasites (the white chalkiness you see) as these little critters (cochineal) when crushed produce a red stain (carminic acid) which is used worldwide as food colouring and red dye. Big business!

Our next stop was by far the most eerie. As the sun was setting quickly behind the mountains, we were the only ones walking around the Chauchilla Cemetery. Here we saw ancient mummies that sadly no one knows much about. Once this place was discovered in the 20s it had already been plundered by grave robbers. As you walk around there are fragments of bone everywhere and I couldn't help but feel devastated about the fact that so much history has been wiped away...

All photos by Glenn Chiofalo for Looking Glass

We left just as the sun was about to disappear, leaving only the ghosts to rome the cemetery.

For more photos from our Peruvian adventures and Nazca follow me on instagram.

About Me

Welcome Soulful Ones! I'm Clare, a wife and a Mama to a two year old wildling. Owner of organic kids & baby wear brand "Manuel Montt." I'm also an actor and have a degree in Food & Nutrition. I love exploring this amazing planet of ours and am passionate about living a more ethical, conscious, soul aligned life and reducing my family's toxic load. I love cleansing my chakras and am a student of School of the Modern Mystic. Residing in Sydney, Australia.